Page 25 of Pretense

The boy straightened his shoulders, standing a little taller.

The other boys jumped to their feet, clamoring to have their own faces painted with warrior runes.

While many of the boys flocked to Farrendel, the girls turned to Essie. She didn’t know quite as many runes as Farrendel, but she could copy the warrior one that some of the girls asked for and she could do the ones for kindness and honor that the other girls wanted. Soon, they had an entire room full of children running around with elven runes painted on their cheeks and foreheads and hands. Packs of them were running around the room, waving imaginary swords.

Time to take their leave. The children were at the end of their best behavior, and they would want to be given the freedom to go play. Essie stood and gathered the paintings the children gave her while leaving the paintings she and Farrendel had done with the children. Essie said goodbye to the women who ran the orphanage, took the bouquet that a servant produced, then she held out her hand to Farrendel. “Ready to return to Buckmore Cottage?”

Farrendel eyed her paint-smeared fingers for a long moment before he sighed and took her hand. The children were split between giggling and making “ew” noises.

Some of the crowd still lingered outside, and Essie smiled and waved, though she didn’t stop to talk to any of them. Her paint-smeared appearance would be reported in the papers, but it would likely be just as much good press as bad.

As soon as they were in the carriage, Farrendel slumped back against the seat and let out a sigh. “I survived.”

“Yes. You survived admirably well.” Essie smiled and traced the scar on his cheek, leaving a smudge of paint.

Farrendel huffed and started to raise his arm to scrub his face. But he halted as she sat on the seat next to him. “Finger painting creates a mess.”

“Yes, but aren’t the results adorable?” As the carriage started moving, Essie showed him the painting the child had done of him.

Farrendel’s eyebrows shot up. “Is that how my ears look to you humans?”

“Don’t fret. They aren’t that big. This is a child’s finger painting, after all.” Essie grinned and waved back the way they’d come. “Did you see my attempt at Ellonahshinel? I think the children were more accurate.”

“True.” Farrendel’s mouth quirked into a broader smile than she’d seen since Averett had come to fetch them from Tarenhiel. He wrapped an arm around her waist and tugged her closer. “That was not as bad as I feared.”

“But you’re glad it’s over.” Essie snuggled closer to Farrendel’s side. It had been fun spending time with the children at the orphanage again, and it had been nicer doing it with Farrendel.

Yet, there was something about seeing Farrendel interacting with children that sent her thoughts spinning to those someday dreams. The dreams of little red-haired children with pointed ears running around with far too much energy.

Ugh. Essie buried her face against Farrendel’s shoulder. She had baby fever big time, and she didn’t dare admit it to Farrendel just yet. Especially not with all this stuff going on right now, with his parentage coming to light here in Escarland and him working with the counselors about his own feelings regarding his illegitimate birth. Then there was his magical engineering degree, and that would keep him rather busy for the next few years.

They had plenty of time, most likely, given that the heart bond would cause her to live somewhere between four and five hundred years.

But that didn’t stop her from thinking about it every time she saw a baby or a child. And although Essie would live for several hundred years, the rest of her family would have normal, human lifespans. If she wanted her children to have a chance to know her family, then children would need to come along sooner rather than later.

Farrendel remained quiet during the trip back to the palace, and Essie didn’t break his reverie, knowing that he was gathering himself back together after the busyness of the morning.

When they arrived, Essie and Farrendel disembarked in front of Winstead Palace, since the carriage house was closer to the main palace than their cottage.

Another carriage filled the drive, this one white and open. Jalissa and Edmund were climbing down, Edmund reaching for Jalissa’s hand.

Essie leaned closer to Farrendel and spoke in a lowered voice. “I wonder what is going on with them. You didn’t see them during the war, but they had gotten close. Then they went frosty toward each other overnight. And now they’re suddenly all cozy again. It seems strange.”

Farrendel eyed Jalissa and Edmund, his forehead wrinkling. “I do not know. I had not noticed.”

“And they were in an open carriage. It will be all over the papers that they were seen together, right alongside stories of our visit.” Essie studied the way that Edmund and Jalissa were strolling close together. “Edmund would know that. And he never does anything without a reason. It is almost as if…”

As if Edmund had wanted the papers to get all distracted over a possible elf-human romance between Edmund and Jalissa.

No, Edmund wouldn’t start something with Jalissa to take the heat off Essie and Farrendel, would he? He wouldn’t add to the plan without telling any of them.

Except, this was Edmund. He always had his own schemes going, and Essie rarely learned about them unless they involved her. Sometimes she didn’t find out even then. Edmund was layers of secrets underneath his easy-going demeanor.

Surely Edmund would have told Jalissa, at least, if he was using her in some plot. He wouldn’t toy with her.

“Almost as if, what?” Farrendel turned his gaze onto Essie. “Should we worry?”

“Edmund can take care of himself, whatever he has going on.” Essie pasted on a smile, since Jalissa and Edmund were headed in their direction. She still had just enough time to answer Farrendel in a low tone. “But it is Jalissa I’m worried about.”

---